When There's No Room In Hell
by Welsh Gem
Summary: The Flock wakes up to find themselves in the Zombie Apocalypse. While struggling to survive, they come across the very source of the Apocalypse and it's time to save the world from eating itself into extinction...Schools Out (In Bits) now up! Set after FANG, contains Fax, rated for character death. Review!
1. A Walking Porridge Tries to Eat Me

I didn't believe it until I saw it. I stood there, dumb-founded in the store as the counter guy slugged towards me, moaning. His eyes were rolled to the back of his head, his head leaning against his shoulder. His arms were stretched out towards me, his fingers limp. His right leg had been mauled, half of it chewed off and the bone was visible. As he walked, it trailed behind him, holding on by a few layers of skin. Blood and drool dripped from his mouth.

My jaw dropped, my body went numb, my brain went dead. I couldn't believe what I saw. The zombie limped towards me so I did what came natural to me: I punched him in the face.

He staggered backwards then fell over because of his unbalance. Normally, when you punch someone in the face, your fist aches a bit. Not mine. The skin was so soft and squidgy, like cold porridge; my fist flew through his cheek skin and knocked his teeth. I drew it back quickly, drool dampening my skin. Luckily, I hadn't been bitten. I've watched _Dawn of the Dead _a hundred times over to know if I get bitten, I turn into one of them.

While the zombie was rolling about on the floor aimlessly, I raced out of the store, my heart thumping. I unfurled my wings: fifteen feet of brown and ivory feathers. I did a running jump into the air, pushing down hard and soaring upwards.

I landed on top of _Burger King_, glancing around the small Coloradoan town. It was silent, which wasn't exactly strange but when I listened hard, I could hear a few moans in the distance: all of them low, dumb and very, _very_ hungry.

It had to be a joke, it just _had _to. There was no way the entire human race could turn into zombies overnight. It was impossible, just impossible.

**But you're supposed to be impossible. After all, you have wings**_. _

_Shut up, shut up, shut up! _I screamed in my head. The Voice had terrible timing. _Leave me alone, _I yelled in my mind. _This is just some stupid prank. _

**You should have listened to Fang. **I bit my lip. Fang came back just moments ago, claiming the world had become zombies. I ignored him; after all, he had left me three weeks back and left a crummy letter. Angel believed him but I ignored her to, even though after she said it I had a nagging feeling in the back of my head. You see, Angel can read minds and see images from someone's memory. She can tell liars from those telling to truth.

I stormed off, which was normal for me when I'm upset, and I flew to town to see if they were telling the truth and weren't just messing around. I stood there for three minutes, standing on the roof of _Burger King_, debating if it is or if it's not a prank.

A door of a nearby gas station got kicked to the floor and four different zombies crawled out. One of them was a toddler, three years old or so, with his jaw ripped off. My stomach lurched, sickened by the amount of blood dripping from his innocent face.

I couldn't stand it anymore. I leapt off the roof and beated my wings. I soared up and headed towards the mountains of Mesa Verde National Park. My home, the Flock's home, was hidden a few mountains away from the ruins, safely hidden from the preying eyes of towns and placed on a cliff to make a speedy get away.

I landed outside and they all rushed out to see me. Fang was there, Mr. Tall, dark and handsome with wings darker than night, his eyes too dark to see emotion. Angel was worried, a pair of blue eyes placed on a frowning face with golden princess curls. Her brother, Gasman, stood behind her with the same expression. Nudge, for once, had her mouth shut and gripping Iggy's sleeve. Iggy's finger was locked around her belt loop, just so he could follow her steps outside. He's blind.

Dylan stood in the door frame. A tornado of emotions raged in his turquoise eyes. I saw worry, for me probably, fear that Fang was telling the truth, anger that Fang was back and confusion for some reason I couldn't make out.

"Is he telling the truth?" Dylan asked. I knew he hated Fang. He was the reason why he wasn't dating me right now. He was created to be my other half, with the same likes and dislikes as me, even the same wing colour. I knew he loved me, he was programmed to be but the nag that it was artificial pulled me back from him. And anyway, I still had feelings for Fang. He left to protect me when he didn't need to. And who put this thought into his head? Dylan did.

To answer Dylan's question, I nodded. Nudge chocked, crying. Iggy suddenly became scared. "We've got to go and get Ella." He blurted. I thought I had been punched in the gut by Fear. I cursed in my head. How could I forget my half-sister and my mother?

"Quick, get some backpacks!" I ordered. "We're going to Arizona!" Gazzy and Nudge left to get them. Dylan frowned.

"What about food?" He asked.

"We'll get some later but right now, we've got to save Ella and Mom. _Now." _


	2. We Blow Up McDonalds

Nudge and Gazzy came back with seven perfect backpacks. All of them large, light and fitted brilliantly between our wings, full or not. "What can we use for weapons?" I asked as we started to rush outside, unfurling our colourful collage of feathers.

"Don't worry," Iggy gave me the thumbs up. "Me and Gaz are stocked on explosives." Even though it did make me feel less worried, I still had to roll my eyes. Those two go nowhere without bombs.

"What about bats? We got get some on the way." Angel asked. We take running leaps off of the side of the cliff, soaring into the air and away from home. I remembered the zombie from earlier, how soft it's skin was.

"Maybe, but aim for the head. I once saw this TV Program about how to survive the zombie apocalypse. It said to kill a zombie, either damage the brain or remove the head. The brain is what's bringing them back to like so hit the brain, knock out the zombies. There are pressure points on the spines like with humans and don't get bitten or-" Nudge cut off, realising that she was rambling.

"I punched one in the face and the skin of the cheek was like wet paper, so it should be easy to hit them on the brain." I replied. I heard Nudge gag. "And don't get bitten, whatever you do." I caught Fang nodding at me, approving and willing to follow. My heart skipped a beat and my stomach lurched. I had deja vu; remembering every time we were flying, he would always me at my right side, or above me, no matter what.

Dylan was trying to get closer, constantly brushing his feathers against mine. It was fine at first, but as it started to repeatingly happen every five seconds, I was getting a bit agitated. Fang kept his usual distance: close but not breathing-down-my-neck close, like Dylan.

Finally, I gave a sigh and tucked my wings in and dropped. Dylan followed instantly, the Flock not far behind him, but I didn't warn him when I unfurled so he got a whack in the face and dropped about twenty feet. Well, it's watcha get when you get too close.

"Holy cow..." Gasman gasped. We looked down, seeing a larger town crawling with grey skinned, hungry zombies. Half of them had bite marks all over their bodies, some had missing body parts. All of them had their eyes rolled back in their heads and drool pouring from their mouths. They came in all ages, from babies to old people.

"I can hear the moaning..." Iggy grimed. I gulped. This was no prank. "...but no living."

As we flew over them, they all paused and sniffed the air. One by one, they extended their arms (if they had them) upwards and tossed their heads to the sky. They could smell us. They could smell our sweat, our blood, our flesh. They could smell the living.

"Max?" Nudge called in a quiet voice. "Wh-what are they doing?" She knew the answer but didn't want it to be real. I glanced back at all of them. Each of them was scared. Nudge looked as if she was about to burst into tears, Iggy was confused. Gazzy's chin was wibbling. Angel was clutching the straps of her backpack so tightly that her knuckles were white. Dylan, he was looking at me for answers. Fang...looked unfazed. Of course, he had already seen all this.

I cleared my throat. "They can smell us, Nudge, which means we've got to stop for perfume sometime soon."

I flapped my wings and soared forward, slightly tinting west. Mom's house was near the border of Arizona-New Mexico, not far from the New Mexico-Colorado border, so we had to head south-west-south for a good couple miles. I've flown this way before and it only took me, Fang and Nudge a few hours but the chances are that we'll be a bit slower with the younger ones because they'll need food before me.

As if he was reading my mind, Gasman piped up. "Max, I'm hungry." I inwardly sighed, slightly angry that he wanted to side stop while I was trying to save my mom and sister but I couldn't blame him for being hungry, it's not his fault. To be honest, my stomach could've done with some refuelling too.

"Hold on Gaz, we'll pull over at the next fast-food joint." I replied.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Dylan questioned. "I mean, there are zombies everywhere and I-you-we could be eaten or something." I looked at his confused face, a deep frown with pleading eyes.

"I think it's a good idea." Fang spoke. "Zombies means free food and zombies aren't very good climbers. We snatch some food, take it up onto a high, unreachable roof and eat it. Maybe we can snack on the way, too."

I felt thankful to Fang for backing me up, and Dylan shut his mouth turned away from him. But I didn't think it was a good plan. I wanted to go get Ella and Mom as quickly as possible, without stops, so we could just fly off-

Fly off. Fly. Fly.

"Dang it." I muttered.

Fang frowned. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Mom and Ella can't fly." I answered. Damn, damn, DAMN! "How are we going to be able to make a quick escape when we're carrying a forty year old human and a twelve year old human? They weight three times our body weight, we'll struggle. It'll be awkward and slow, like flying Erasers. We can't take the car because there won't be enough room! I want to get in and out without a single zombie calling up its buddies and-and-"

I let out an agitated cry and I felt a feather brush against my own. I was ready to snap at Dylan to stop brushing his feathers against mine when I realised it was Fang. "Calm down, we'll get a van. Remember that old hippie van we once stole?"

The Flock behind me had a wave of low, glum chuckles and I couldn't help but smile. The hippie van was roomy but cringy. The whole thing was covered in clashing colours, furry rugs and 'peace' posters, not to mention it smelt like a crack house. Gazzy found a few eighties clothing and wigs in the back and him, Nudge, Angel and Total had a fashion show. Nudge then had an addiction to beeping horns and along with Gazzy's mimicking songs, I got a headache. Everyone started singing a Queen song, Fang's driving was the shambles (not that I'm much better) and Total was telling corny jokes.

I couldn't help but chuckle. Dylan just looked at us weirdly. Then I saw it: A MacDonald's with an empty New Ford Transit Seat Trend Minivan in the parking lot, near a gas station. A getaway right next to a takeaway. Hallelujah!

"I think we have a guardian angel..." I sighed gratefully, tucked in my wings and shot down like a bullet.

I soared down to the roof, flapped my wings three times to the approaching Flock. It was a signal we had learned years ago: wait for my 'okay' signal. They instantly retreated while I began to search the area. There were no zombies in the open; we were in the middle of a wide stretch route. But that van was here which meant that someone had been here and hasn't yet left, plus a red land rover and a black Harley. I listened carefully but I couldn't hear anything. Cautiously, I jumped down onto an empty parking space in front of the windows. I tucked in my wings, not wanting to bring over any attention if there was anyone there. I couldn't see anyone through the window. I beat my wings once: only one person can come down, usually Fang.

Fang glides down next to me and stands back to back. "Anything?" He asks. I shake my head. He listens but doesn't react. "Sounds clear."

"Looks clear." I grab the door handle. "Cover me." And I pull open the door and step inside.

There has to be someone here. The ovens are on, the mop is left out. There's a bag left on a chair; a small silver purse with a long strap. There's definitely someone here. I crouch down and look under the tables for feet while Fang looks up at the ceiling and around corners. I click my heel against the floor and point towards the counter. We head towards it, evening our breaths. I see the pulse racing on Fang's neck and I feel my own, ready to burst an artery any second now. There's blood on one of the tills, a hand print without the thumb. I swallow; not a good sign. Gripping the counter, we lean over it and peek over the tills.

There's a body, the stomach ripped over and the intestines splattered over the floor. I gag but thankfully, I have a strong stomach. The woman's face is facing at us, eyes wide and scared to death, but she's not a zombie. Yet. Her eyes aren't rolled back, she's not breathing, there's no drool. Only a ragdoll corpse with a dissected stomach and swimming in blood.

I look away, disgusted. It reminds me of a dead pig drowning in gravy on a silver platter. That probably what zombies think she is. Fang grimaces before jumping onto the counter and leaping over her. "Go get someone. I get the food, you take it to the others and someone watches over her." He planned, talking in whispers.

"What if the zombie comes?" I ask. I don't want to leave him in danger.

"It's probably left, there's nothing here. Apart from this." He insists. I nodded and rushed out, hoping that she won't turn until I get back to Fang. I flap my wings once more and Dylan dives down. I bet he's worked out the code.

He lands and grabs my arm. "Are you alright?" He asked loudly. I shh at him and put a finger to my lips, pulling my arms from his grasp.

"Quiet!" I hiss. "We might get heard!"

"By who?" He asks dumbly. I roll my eyes, annoyed.

"Zombies, any ones we haven't found. They might not know we're here so keep quiet." I order. Dylan nods and gulps. I nod towards the counter, where Fang still is. "Go help Fang for a second." And he lumbered off to do my biding.

I flap for the others to come down, keeping my finger to lips at all time to show that they have to be quiet. Pale, nervous and hungry, we sneak in to get our food. Dylan's watching the corpse while Fang scrounges for food. Dylan climbs over to help him now I'm here with the others to watch over the body.

"Remember, no meat for me!" Nudge whispers. After five minutes of scrounging and packing. Fang and Dylan come back with eight bags full on two trays, along with four milkshakes, four sodas and four bottles of water and sets them on the counter.

"Two bags each." Dylan informs. "We need more, though."

"Right, Dylan and Nudge, take them onto the roof," I say pointing to the trays. "And take Angel and Gazzy too. Any sign of zombies or danger, fly up and circle. If we don't come out in ten minutes after, go on without us. Fang, can you get those bags on your own?" I ask. He nods and goes to make more. Dylan takes the others outside, leaving me with Iggy.

"Keep your ears open, your our best listener." I tell him. He nods, understanding. While Fang rushes around and Iggy keeps his ears open, I stare at the body. The counter person, with the name tag and the baseball cap, blonde hair tied back and green eyes. Her leg has been chewed, marks through her tights. She's lost a shoe, which I can see next to my foot. Her arms are stretched over her head, her fingers reaching for the door.

"Almost done." Fang says. He comes back with a tray with six bags on it. He puts three bottles of water in his back, steals a couple of doughnuts and muffins for a treat. He goes around the corner, looking for some more straws. I go back to looking at the victim's hands. I count the fingers. Four on the right, along with a thumb. Four on the left, along with the thu-

Dread kicks me in the stomach. I feel sick. Sweat drips from my forehead.

The thumb. It twitched. It's waking up. Before I can say anything, Iggy clasps a hand over my mouth and put a finger to his lips. Fang emerges from the corner and freezes after seeing Iggy. Iggy listens. Slowly, he takes his finger from his lip and points to the staff door, just behind the counter. It's closed but then I hear it. A scratch against the wood. A low moan, so silent it sounds like a rabbit's nose twitching. Two zombies.

I tap my hand against Iggy's, the one that's covering my mouth, five times. It means we have to leave. Now.

As Iggy moves his hand from my mouth, the dead woman's hand twitches, the eyelids flinch. It's waking up. Slowly, the eyes begin to roll into the back of the head. It takes a large gasp of air, starts shaking and has a seizure. The door is now banging, like fists or a body is throwing itself at the wood. The body groans, a large splat of drool dangles off the chin. My stomach lurches; I need air. The door snaps in half, a grey hand with splinters pokes out. It's a child hand. Soft looking, small. Finally, the body sits up, it's neck bent awkwardly and lets out a loud, long moan.

It's joined by more moans. More than one. At least seven, maybe eight? "Run!" I cry. Fang slides the try onto the counter and jumps over. I grab it and turn to run. Iggy grabs hold of the back of Fang's shirt and they run ahead. I hear a crash behind me and I can't help but turn my head to look. I do, and I see the counter corpse, now zombie, clambering over the counter. Eight child zombies, all around ten, are trying too to climb over the black marble. I crash through the doors and outside, leaping into the air and unfurling my wings.

I see the others sitting on the roof, safe, not a zombie in sight, wings unfurled. I land too and start stuffing my two bags into my backpack. "Quick! Pack to food and hi jack that van!" I order. They start packing away the food they haven't eaten yet. Fang passes me my bottle of water and then passes one to Iggy before zipping his own bag and gliding over to the van, with Iggy right behind him.

I wait for the others, ordering them to get to the van as soon as they finish packing. I'm tempted just to tell them to leave the food and fly like Hell but it looks like there's trouble with the van. Fang, Iggy and Gazzy are turning out their pockets, looking for something. Dylan joins them and Fang takes something from his hair and starts picking a lock with it. Wait-a hair clip? Dylan wears hairclips?

There's a crash beneath my feet and a child zombie rolls out onto the curb. It's had both its legs eaten away so it's using its arms as legs and clumsily making its way over to the boys. "Oh no you don't." I mutter. Swiftly, I grab a tray and Frisbee it at the zombie, slicing through its brain like a spoon through ice cream. It collapses almost instantly.

Nudge and Angel are in the air now, making their way to the van. Fang's got the door open and he's fixing the wires under the dashboard. Grabbing the other trays as weapons, I fly down and land on the top of the van. "How is it?" I ask

"Not good. This van has a lot of wires." Fang says. I glance back up to MacDonald's to see the other zombies slowly falling out of the window and stupidly walking into the outside tables. I notice the balloons. It was a birthday party, judging by the 'Happy 10th Birthday' written in black on them. "How many are there?"

"Eight. I took one out with the tray. Their skulls are weak, easier to get to the brain. We need to move." I reply. Fang fidgets with the wires, switching some and trying to get a spark. The others clamber in and do a check of the van. I glance over to the zombies again. They're closer and getting used to walking. They'll reach us three minutes or so.

"Quick! Find something to throw!" I say and I grab a tray from Nudge. I unfurl my wings, leaping into the air and hurling the tray right into another's brain. Nudge grabs something from the back of the bus and runs towards the zombies. "Nudge! Stay back!" But she runs right up to one and hits their head so hard it's torn from the neck and rolls away. Nudge then swings the object to another zombie and it sticks through its head. Both zombies collapse to the floor, one headless and the other has a fire extinguisher sticking from its head.

Nudge turns and runs back to the van and I count the zombies. Six left. We have two trays left and no other way of knocking out those last four. Unless...

"Iggy!" I call. Iggy turns to the direction of my voice. "Have you got a bomb that can take out at least four zombies?" I ask. He gives me a sly grin and tells Gazzy to dig out some explosives. I take that as a yes. "But only a small one!"

I dive down and take the last two trays, ready to do some damage. Fang is working on the wires still with a furious frown on his face. Iggy and Gazzy are creating a bomb quickly. Nudge is looking for something to fend the zombies off with and Angel is trying to get into their minds, concentrating on them with a glare in her eyes. Dylan is sitting in the van, watching as we try desperately to survive.

"We should just leave and find another van!" He complains.

We can't. Mom's car isn't big enough for all of us and I doubt we'll be able to find a van like this one. I shake my head at him in refusal and then I hurl the tray at one. My aim is off, only slicing the neck and the head is still intact. I mentally kick myself. I throw the other tray and the same one and I finish it off. The trays are long gone now, covered in grey porridge-like flesh and hidden under the bodies. I'm not allowing anyone to go near them, just in case we're wrong about the theory of the m dying if we hit the head. What if they were just unconscious for a while? I can't chance having Angel stealing the last tray from them at the last moment. I can't lose anyone. Not now.

Nudge grabs the nearest crowbar and starts waving it at zombies. "Back! Back!" She cries. They don't understand her and keep coming forward. She hits one on the cheek so hard that it's head spins around and the neck is broken. I can hear the snap all the way over here. But the zombie doesn't drop dead. I dive down, grab it by the collar and hurl it backwards.

"Iggy, is that bomb ready?" I ask. The zombies are so close now, my pulse is almost bursting out of my skin.

"Almost..." Iggy replies as he fixes two wires together. "Done!" He cries. He hands it to Gasman and then rushes to help Fang. He pops open the hood and starts fidgeting with the engine. Fang's at his size, fixing some wires. He then runs back, sticks a hair pin into the ignition, turns it and the engine starts.

I let out a sigh of relief but it's not over yet. Dylan and Iggy scramble inside, Fang takes the wheel. I pull Gazzy and Nudge in before getting myself in and shutting the door. A quick head count reveals we're all here. Angel emerges from the back and clings onto me.

"Let's go." I say. Gazzy throws the bomb from an open window, hitting one on the head and it stumbles backwards.

"Quick! We've got ten seconds!" Fang slams his foot onto the accelerator and we drive off. The van does an 180oC arch and speeds off. As we're pulling away from MacDonald's, the bomb explodes, giving out a large erupting fire and a thick trail of smoke heading up, which we leave in the dust as we drive off to save Mom and Ella.

**I apologise for the long wait, only now I've managed to get Microsoft :)**


	3. Our Rescue Mission Goes Half Right

The moment my teeth sunk into my McChicken Sandwich, I thought I was going to be sick. I hadn't eaten all morning and the only reason why my head wasn't already hanging out of the window, chucking my guts up with worry was because I had no food in my system. The taste of food made me gag so I did the most unbird-kid thing ever: I passed on eating.

Gasman then started asking to eat my food when he had finished his own. He had scoffed two burgers, three fries, a salad, apple pie and chicken nuggets and drank all his chocolate milkshake. He was keeping his muffin for later, as a back up snack, along with his soda and more milkshake. I decided to find out what people were going to save for later, wondering that if we ever needed it, I could ration it.

Angel was half way through her second fries, after devouring both her burgers, one set of fries and her salad. She said she was going to keep her nuggets and pie but was going to drink her milkshake before it got warm.

Nudge had eaten her fries and both bread buns with lettece, pickles, tomato and choose but gave the meat to Gasman. She wasn't a meat eater. The salad and apple pie was gone before I could blink, along with the strawberry milkshake.

Iggy was still on his burgers but he had eaten his fries and nuggets. He was sipping his milkshake inbetween bites and chews. He was going to keep the salad and the pie for later, along with the doughnuts.

Dylan has never gone without a meal for long, unlike us, so he was eating slowley, only finishing his second burger. He said he was going to eat one set of chips and save the rest of the food. The milkshake was almost gone.

Fang was eating and driving at the same time. Now and then, he would ask me to change the gears for him, as I was sitting next to him with everyone else in the back. Iggy was behind Fang, Nudge behind Iggy and opposite Dylan sitting by the door with a crowbar at his feet. Gasman and Angel sat together in the back, keeping an eye out from the back window. Fang had eaten his burgers, his chips and his salad. The pie and the doughnuts were kept for later but the milkshake had been drained.

We kept our own foods, packing them into our backpacks as Fang drove us towards my Mom's house. After hours of driving, we were now in Arizona and about a mile from the town. When we silenced and Fang went slowley to calm down the humming of the engine, Iggy said he could hear the moaning of zombies. Everyone piled down into the front and I examined what weapons we had. Dylan have Nudge the crowbar and has the last fire extinguisher. Gazzy and Iggy had made small bombs that smelt of birdkid (I don't want to give you too much detail, but let's just say they used feathers and sweat from a certain pyromaniac's armpit) to drive the zombies in different directions.

"Okay, so here's the plan..."

Me, Iggy, Gasman and Angel stood on top of the minivan's roof. Our wings unfurled, bombs attached to our belts and in our pockets. Well, accept for Angel. She wasn't coming with me and the boys but she had her own role. Something's up with her, lately. She hasn't said a word for all the drive...

We finally see the zombies. Moaning and groaning, searching for fresh flesh. They can smell us already and turning our way.

Step One: Distract the Zombies.

"On the count of three!" I shout. "One-" And then we all take running leaps into the air.

I fly the highest while the three form an arrow below me but safe from the zombie's clutches. Iggy and Gasman zoom ahead and start distracting the zombies on the road towards mom's house by dropping the bird smelt bombs just blocks away. Angel lags behind, flies lower to get the zombies' attention. They smell her, and me, looking up and reaching towards us. They start to follow Angel, dragging their feet and ignoring the approaching van. Angel flies between two buildings and they follow her as I fly ahead. I hope she'll be okay. The roads are getting pretty clear, with a few zombies who apparently have no sense in smell. I fly far ahead, just a few blocks away from Mom's house.

Step Two: Get to Mom's House.

There's quite a few zombies so I go with the plan. I fly low, grab their attention and head down a lane, leading them away from the main road. I hurl a bomb that they shuffle towards, falling over each other to get the taste of chicken human. I can't believe that it's going so well. Angel is far from danger, flying high that I can see her white angelic wing and her glittering halo of blonde hair. She's circuling and leading the zombies away from out exit route.

Fang comes speading down the road, the wheels smoking from friction and running over anything that gets in his way. Dylan and Nudge are standing on the roof, hitting any zombie that get's too close. To keep the zombies away, I throw another two bombs (I have five in total) to keep them distracted. I dive down next to the van and join them. Fang climbs out and joins my side.

"Ready?" He asks. I nod.

Step Three: Break In

"Ready." The we charge. I slam into the door, forcing it open and rushing inside. "Mom? Ella?" I call. Nudge flies outside to check the windows and I grab an unbrella from the stand next to the door. "Fang, look in the kitchen. Dylan, the back office. I'll go upstairs." The boys look hesitant to let me go alone but before they can protest, I'm half way up the staircase.

Step Four: Find Mom and Ella

It's dark, the curtains closed and the lights are turned off. I reach for the switch and flick it. No light. I grab a flashlight from my back jean pocket and switch it on, checking the ground before the ceiling and walls. Nothing. "Mom?" Silence. My tiny breaths sound like a tired dog panting. I step forward and the floor creaks. I pause, listening. Nothing.

Maybe they're not hear. Maybe they've ran-

Oh no.

Oh God no, please. No, please no.

There's blood. A hand print on Ella's bedroom door. A hand slightly larger than mine, and there's a trail of it, leading down the hall. The white paint of the door has been scrapped off by sharp nails. There's definetly been a zombie here.

I gasp at the sight, choke back the tears and drop my flash light in surprise. It clatters to the floor, slicing through the silence like a knife through butter. Then there's a creak from down the hall. "Ella?" I call out. I grasp my flash light again and glance down at the trail of blood. There's smears of it on the cream painted walls, a pool just three feet from where I stand. I reach down and dip my finger in it. It's slightly warm, meaning it's fresh. My closet clue is down the hall.

I step forward, dodging the pools of blood but keeping my feet close to the trail. There's three floors to this house. There's down stairs, upstairs and this floor. Here is where Ella and Mom sleep, upstairs are the spare bedrooms the Flock sleep in during visits. Down this hall way is the bathroom and Mom's room. The floor creaks again but there's no reaction. I gulp and take another step foreward. Mom's door is ajar, a strange noise coming from inside. It's quiet, really quiet, that it takes some time for my ears to pick up what it is. It's not moaning; it's eating.

I hold my breath and peer through the gap in the door.

My Mom's hunched over, sitting on her bed. Her hair is messy and stringy. Her clothes are torn. She's suffing her face into something and I hope it's just her favourite flavour of pizza but there's a deep, sickly feeling in my stomach that tells me it's not. I've never seen her like this. She can't be a zombie. She can't.

I feel like I'm about to hurl. Then she throws somethign aside and carries on taking massive bites. The thing she threw hits the wall and lands on the floor limply, staining the wood with blood. It's a rib bone with pink meat still attached to it. The stench of raw meat hits my nose, making me gasp, choke and once again, drop my flashlight.

It falls against the ground even louder this time. Mom stops and snaps her head to see me. Her eyes are rolled back in her head, her skin is a grey-creamy brown colour. There's guts hanging from her chin and stuck between her teeth, blood mixing with drool and dribbling from her mouth. I see what she's eating; it's a small child, so small to understand what was happening to run away. She sees me, bares her teeth and scrambles towards me.

I'm to shocked to move; I'm rooted to the spot. Mom-Mom...she can't be..can't...not my Mom...

Mom's faster than any zombie before. She tackles me straight on, knocking my to the ground. My arms instinctivly hold her back, keeping her teeth a good distance from my flesh. I'm still dazed, gazing at her in fright. How could my mother turn from a cookie baker to...to...this? Tears are streaming down my face and Mom runs her nails across my forehead.

"M-Mom?" I whisper. She doesn't listen. She's making a sound like a rabid dog, not like the other zombies. But I can't kill her. She's my Mom. I can't kill her...

A single cry cuts through and shakes me to my senses. "Max!" I tear my eyes away to see Nudge standing her with her crowbar and supporting Ella at her hip, her arm around her and hoisting her up. My sister is alive.

My body acts before I can think. I push my mother off me, she gots flying into the door. I scramble to my feet and signal Nudge to run. Mom lunges at me again but I use my umbrella to knock her off her feet. She doesn't stay down long and she's back up again before I know it. I round house kick her in the chest, my heart aching as I do so. She tumbled back into her bedroom and I slam the door shut before Mom can get through. I let out a terrified sigh and turn back to Nudge and Ella. "Go!"

Mom's fist smashes through the door and grabs my knee. I slap it with my umbrella and she lets go long enough for me to leap out of the way and follow Nudge as she rushes down the stairs. Dylan's at the bottom, clueless.

"I heard a noi-"

"RUN!" I scream. He picks up Ella bridal style and hurries out onto the dusty lawn and towards the van. Nudge is high in the sky now, batting off approaching zombies. Suddenly, Mom gives a screech and topples on top of me, pinniny me to the ground. I grab her neck, pushing her away from me. Struggling, I twist my hip and kick Mom off me, in the abdomen. She's pushed back onto the floor and we both get up. I hold by umbrella like a baseball bat. She bare's her blood-stained teeth and lunges.

_Thwack!_

Mom falls to the ground, unconsious, with Fang standing behind her with a metal golf club. He glares at her body while I stand there, gaping. "You just killed my mom..." I muttered.

Fang smirked. "Not, really." He replied. He points to where he hit her with his club: a spot just to the right of her spine between the shoulder blades. "Pressure points. Nudge taught me where to disable them for twenty minutes. She'll live."

A mix of fear and glee stirred inside me. My Mom was a raging, brain hungry zombie but she was still alive, in a way.

**Maybe there's a way to undo all this and maybe, you might get her back**. I groaned. Stupid voice.

_I seriously doubt that, Voice. She's gone._

**But there might be. Arm yourself first, get food and find a safe place. You might just be able to undo all of this Max, just maybe.**

_On average, 'maybe' means 'no way'._I've changed my mind. All glee from inside me is gone. I'm angry. I'm upset; I've lost my Mom. She tried to eat me. I doubt many Moms do that. I glance up at Fang, who's frowning at me worridly.

"Come on, let's go." I say and turn to leave. I run outside, Fang right behind me. I unfurl my wings and soar upwards into the air. Fang dives into the van, slamming the door while Dylan waits inside with Ella. He starts the engine and does a U turn. Step Five: Get Out Safely

The zombies are coming back, angry that they have been fooled. With my last bomb, I hurl it up near the houses. Just for them to know I'm actually here, I dive down, pick one up and push them against a group of five. I turn and fly towards the bomb before sharply heading up straight and rolling around to face the way to the exit. I shoot forward like a bullet, following the van carefully. The zombies aren't getting to follow the scented bombs and are giving up. Instead, they're heading towards the van.

Iggy and Gazzy are fine. They join me in flight, taking their places below me. All we need to do now is get Angel and get out of here. We drive down the empty roads, some cars abandoned by the curb or crashed so there's a clear path for the van. We take a sharp turning right and see Angel still distracting the zombies. As the van zooms past, she takes her place in the arrow and we fly freely towards the exiting van.

"Did you get your Mom?" Gasman called. I didn't reply. Instead, I fight back tears. I can't look weak, not now.

"What about Ella?" Iggy asked moments later.

"She's in the van." I croaked. "She's unconsious." Iggy dives down and lands on the van roof. He knocks three times on the van's sliding door before Nudge opens it and he clambers in. Angel dives down next, then Gazzy and then me.

It's cool in the van, the air condtioning is turned on. Ella is lying across two seats, her head resting on Nudge's lap with Iggy at her feet. "Is she okay?" I ask. Just then Nudge pours water onto Ella's face and she jerks awake, coughing and splattering. She peers at us with large, brown eyes.

"M-Max?" She coughs. "Iggy?" I let out a sigh of relief. She's fine. Nudge gives her some chicken nuggets and a drink of water from the bottle.

"How are you?" I ask.

"Where's Mom?" She questions. "Is she...dead?" All eyes are on me, apart from Fang's. I bow my head and close my eyes, trying not to cry.

"She was a zombie, but I didn't kill her. Fang pressure-pointed her so she's unconsious for a while. We left after that." I explained, my voice breaking. Tears dripped from Ella's eyes. Her hands trembled and her shoulders shook as she wept. I turned away so they wouldn't see my tears. I coughed them back, rubbed my eyes and held my chim high.

"So what happened?" I asked, trying not to let my voice break. I can't cry at a moment like this. Not in these conditions. I've got think of somewhere to go first.

"This morning, she-she started shaking and...stuff...and I went to d-d-dial 911 but the l-lines were down, and-and she came after me so I locked my-myself in my room, and she was growling and, scratching at the door, trying to come in. I-I hid under my b-bed and tried m-my cell to call for help but no-no one answered. I m-must have fallen as-sleep." Ella cried. She curled up into a ball as Nudge pattered her shoudlers. I gave her a hug and told her to rest.

"It's been a long day." I sighed. It was now getting late. All day we've had life changing news, flown for miles, scared for our lives and done a daring rescue mission. "We should rest."

Fang agrees and stops the car. He looks exhausted. He's flown far more than us; he said he flew here from somewhere in Washington. "I'll take first watch." He says.

"No." I shake my head. "You've done more than us today, you need sleep. I'll take first watch." I insist. He doesn't argue. No matter how hard he'll try to hide it, I can see he's tired.

"I'll watch from the back." Dylan says and sits in the back of the van alone. Fang slumps in the driver's seat while I sit in the passanger. Ella is curled up behind me, a blanket she had dragged with her from her house, is cucooned around her. Angel and Gazzy curl up together behind her and Iggy takes the seat behind them, stretching his long legs out. Nudge cuddles into a ball and sleeps in the single seat next to the door.

Within minutes, it's just me and Dylan still awake. He doesn't say anything, just keeps staring out of the window. It's been days since I had to stay up half the night as in the E house, I could sleep through the night without fearing for my life. I'm drowsy, hardly keeping my eyelids open. After a few minutes of fightning off sleep, I slip into unconsiousness for the night.

_Max..._

_I'm floating. My hair is floating around me as if it was in water and I'm hovering in mid air. There's no floor and no clouds. Just blue. I'm not wearing my usual jeans, white shirt and brown jacket with sneakers. I'm wearing a blue shirt, one that has no sleeves or straps. It's just tied around my neck and around my waist, leaving my back in full view. It's bare; there's no wings._

_Max..._

_I turn my head. Mom and Ella are standing in front of their home, perfectly healthy, with their arms streched out towards me as if they were welcoming me for a hug. I was overwhelmed with happiness. Fang appeared beside them, smiling at me and he too opens his arms. The Flock appear then, smiling and happy and healthy. They're all there. All five of the Flock: Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel. Even Total was back from his honeymoon. No zombies. Just my family, a fresh batch of cookies and the Arizonian sun._

_Max..._

_They're calling for me. I run towards them, as if my feet are touching groud. I'm almost there, my fingers an inch from theirs, when their eyes roll into the back of their heads, their skin turns grey and drool drips from their mouths. I scream, but it's too late to tear away. They're grasping my skin, their fingers feeling like grubby sausages. I fall to the ground hard, my spine shatters like glass. They loom over me, bending down with their teeth bare._

"Max!" I jerk away, sitting up with my eyes wide and my pulse faster than a train. It's still dark, and cold, and I'm sitting in the van, alive. Angel has climbed over the seat and is croching at my feet. Snores fill the air.

"What is it?" I ask. "Is it zombies?" I kick myself for falling asleep on the watch. But Angel shakes her head. I check outside just in case but the landscape is lit my moonlight and there's no movement or shadows. I turn back to Angel, her face glum and guilty. "What's wrong?" I ask. She looks up at me with sad blue eyes.

"Max, I-" She starts but hesitates. She sighs and tears brim her eyes.

"I knew. I knew that the zombies were coming."

**Firstly, DO NOT TRY FANG'S PRESSURE POINT AT HOME! I made it up, for all I know that could kill someone or make them disabled for life. DO NOT TRY IT!  
>Secondly, my spellchecker isn't working so I apologise for all the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.<br>Hope you enjoyed **


	4. Angel Reveals the Truth

The rest of the world faded away; the images of my sleeping Flock in a stolen van melted before my eyes. The only thing I could see without focusing really hard was Angel sitting before me with tears streaming from her eyes.

My head was spinning. My stomach flipped over like a pancake. My mouth went dry. A cold sweat broke out over my forehead. My hands started to tremble. I sat there, dumbfounded, forgetting to breath.

Using all the strength I had, I managed to take in air and move my lips. "You knew?" I croaked. Angel buried her head into her hands.

"I'm so sorry Max! I-I didn't know all of _this_ would happen. I just got the feeling that something bad was going to happen. I didn't know what, I just...I...I'm sorry." Angel sobbed and wiped her tears with her sleeve.

Normally, I would reach out and hold her close, forgiving her instantly and tell her that it wouldn't have made any difference and everything was just fine but in this case, _it wasn't_. If she had told me something strange was up, I would have called in my Mom and Ella, stocked up on food and hidden in the E House with my family. I would have called up Fang on his blog, giving him a heads up. We all would have been safe, my Mom wouldn't be a raging, child - eating killer. We wouldn't be out here, sleeping in his van, fightning to stay alive. Ella and I wouldn't be crying over my Mom's death. We would all be hiding in the woods, free from any zombies. No death, no crying, no stealing food from Mac Donalds, no hot wiring cars. No more living like a fugative. No more running for our lives. No more rescue missons. If only Angel had said something...

"Max?" I look up, into Angel's sapphire eyes. Her cheeks a flushed, there are tear stains down her face. Her hair is a nest and strands of the curls are damp from crying, sticking to her face. She's hunched over, curled into a ball, a scared expression all over her face. "Talk to me..."

I give a little cough. It still hasn't sunken in properly. "It doesn't matter." I lie. "It's all in the past, there's nothing we can do."

Angel burns holes into the seat. She gives a little sob and wipes her eyes. "I'm really sorry Max, I didn't know it would affect you like this." I wanted to pull her into an embrace, tell her it was fine but my arms were clamped to my sides. She reads my mind and her head droops. "We'll talk some more in the morning, just get some rest." I order.

Still tearful, Angel climbs over the seat and goes back to her own. I let out a shaky sigh and look out of the windscreen. Moonlight beams down onto he shadowed city but there's nothing approaching us. I glance out of Fang's window, nothing.

I tried to go back to sleep but the news Angel had given me kept me awake for the rest of the night. I checked Fang's watch; it was half past two. I sat in complete silence for an hour, thinking about what could have been.

** It's no use living in the past, Max. You must think towards the future.**

_Shut up! Every time you show up, you always tell me what to do and I'm sick of it! For once, show a little sympathy and shut up!_

The voice sighed. **Max, I understand that you're going through a great loss right now but there are people depending on you. There isn't time to heal your wounds, if you want to save your mother.**

Everything in my mind went blank. _What do you mean? This is the second time you say that I can save her. Are you lying or something?_

** You can save her Max. You can shake her from the trance she and every other human being on Earth is in. I can't tell you yet. You aren't prepared. If I told you, you would rush off straight away. You are low on weapons. If you are ready to change the world's fate, you must be prepared for a fight. Fists can't win this battle.**

I was ready to pound my fists against the windscreen and scream. _What battle? Stop speaking in riddles and just tell me!_

**I can't tell you yet, Max. You have no idea what you are up against. Firstly, you must follow Ella's directions. She knows where to go. Then after, you will see your next destination.**

_How does Ella know? What next destination?_

** You will know as soon as you see it. Goodbye Max and good luck.**

A cold shiver ran down my spine and I knew that my audience with the Voice was over.

Fang woke up almost instantly after the voice said goodbye. His dark eyes snapped open and he gave a great yawn. Sitting up groggily, he glanced at me and frowned. "What's wrong?" He asked. I opened my mouth to tell him but no words came out. I was confused, angry at the voice and ready to tear my hair out in large clumps.

I shifted awkwardly and gave a inaudible cough. "I was just talking to the voice." I muttered and fiddled with the zipper on my jacket. Fang nodded; he knew how agitated I get when I talk to the voice. He gripped the wheel and leaned against the back of the seat.

"What did it say?" He questioned. I glanced at him, instantly getting locked into his emotionless eyes.

"It said I could save my Mom." I replied. Fang straightened in his seat.

"That's great!" He said but he lost his confidence after getting another look at my grim face. "But at what price?" He asked.

"It won't tell me how. It said to follow Ella's directions and then I'd see this place to go next. Apparently, I'm going to in this battle that fists can't win." I explained. Fang listened carefully. He turned his body to face me properly, his grip on the wheel loosening. He stared into my eyes, casually flickering to my lips and then back to my eyes.

"I guess that means we gotta go get some guns." He said once I had finished. I nodded and turned back to face the sky. "Where should we go?"

"Wherever Ella thinks we should. Maybe she knows of a place to get guns or baseball bats and stuff." I retorted. I sighed. "And Angel told me something...shocking earlier."

Fang kept staring at me. "About what?"

I explained the whole conversation to him, everything Angel had said and everything that was going through my head while trying to fight back the tears. "I just can't believe that we had a chance to save my Mom, to keep safe back home." I finished. My breath got caught in my throat, tears were threatening to leak from my eyes. Fang shifted over and swung his arm around me, pulling me in for a hug.

At first, I was shocked. Fang rarelly ever showed any signs of emotion. Sure, we've kissed now and again but never really hugged. I felt as if I had turned into a tree with shock.

"It's okay, it doesn't matter now." Fang muttered into my ear. "We've got another chance to save her and we'll get it right."

For the first time in weeks, I felt safe. Now and again, in the night, I would wake up and peek out of my window and down the hall to check for Erasers or M-Geeks. Yesterday didn't help my nerves but being in Fang's arms, him muttering words of reassurance into my ears, it made me feel...better.

He pulled away, stroking my cheek before pecking my nose. My stomach did a flip and then sunk. "Fang..." I murmered. His dark orbs snapped to look at me. "Why did you leave?"

I wished I never asked the quesiton. I knew the answer, he had left to protect me because of the seeds of doubt were growing in his mind. He never used the words 'breaking up' or 'you're dumped' in the letter. But I wanted to hear the words from his own mouth.

Fang didn't reply straight away. He glanced out of the window for a few moments and then back to me. "I'm sorry that I did, Max. I shouldn't have. I just thought I was keeping you and the flock safe. You guys the only family I've ever had and to be told that I was putting you all in danger, I knew I had to get away before you were harmed. Can you ever forgive me?" He asked.

I was satisfied. When Fang came back, I got my revenge of slapping him across the face and now, he was asking for my forgiveness. Normally, I'm not the forgiving type but Fang was an exception. He didn't want to do it; he just felt that he had to.

I leaned over to be nose to nose with him. "I already have."

Then I kissed him full on the lips.


	5. School's Out (In Bits)

The kiss brought back many memories. The time on the beach, on the dock, when Fang tries to presuade me. My heart leaps, as if it's grown it's own wings and set off into the star-dotted sky. All of my weariness, my fear and anger washes away. Right now, I'm in Heaven.

His hand snakes around my head, pulling me in for a deeper kiss. My hands cling to his shirt and I tilt my head for a better angle. The kiss is deep, full of passion. Many weeks of loneliness made up for within five minutes. I've forgotten how wonderful Fang's kisses are, how he's always listened to my problems and how he's stood by me with nearly everything.

We pull apart, the moonlight reflecting in his dark orbs for eyes. He brushes away a stray lock of hair, gives me a little smirk. "I've missed you Max." He mutters. I give a little sigh.

"I've missed you, too." I reply. I snuggle into his chest, Fang's arms wrap around me. I breath in the smell of sweat and fries that linger on his shirt. Mental note: Get Fang to the nearest showers in the morning. With the stars twinkling in the sky, the moon brighter than one of Iggy's explosions, I fell into a deep sleep.

I woke up by being hit on the head. "Ouch!"I cried. I poked open one eye; light is seeping through the windscreen and Nudge was sitting above me with a grin plastered onto her dark face. I groan and close my eye again.

"Wake up, Max!" She orders before scrambling away. I hear slurps, muches of food. The smell of our stolen MacDonalds meals linger in the air. My stomach grumbles and I realise I've gone too long without food. Before I can ask for someone to pass me my food, two burgers are dumped onto my stomach. I open my eye again; Fang glances down at me with a smirk before taking a sip of his water bottle.

The burgers are gone within seconds, my hand reaches for my fries. Turns out Gazzy got extra hungry and decided to eat some. He payed me back with an extra doughnut, though.

"So, what are we doing today? Fightning zombies, going home? Looking for food?" Iggy asks. Ella is sitting next to him, taking tiny bites out of a muffin. She pears at me with chocolate brown eyes.

"My voice decided to go all orcle on me last night." I told. All eyes are on me; everyone knows what my voice is like. Angel raises a questionable eyebrow. "Apparently, Ella knows where to go." I reveal. All eyes are on Ella, who blinks and gives a little shake of her head. I sigh; I was hoping that she'd have a good idea.

"Well, I think we should stock up on weapons first. If we get attacked, we're basically screwed." I say. There are a few nods of agreement. "So, Iggy, what do you need for explosives?" I ask.

Iggy runs his fingers through his strawberry blonde hair, his face frowning with thinking. "We can make little ones out of household stuff but if you want bigger ones to take out loads of zombies, I'm gonna need some more tricky stuff. Some chemicals, a clock or two would be good to set a timer on it. I can easily make stuff like TNT from stuff like bleaches. Some alkia metals would be good, a bit of sulpher and magnesium too."

"We'll need bats at least, maybe hockey sticks and gold clubs." Dylan suggests.

"Okay, so does anyone who where we can find clocks, chemicals, bleaches, bats and hockey sticks in one place?" I ask. I hear a series of groans, Nudge shakes her head. Angel and Fang frown in thought. To be honest, I'm not sure if there's even such place. I'm thinking maybe a mall for bleaches, clocks and sport shops for bats and sticks. But chemicals have me stumped. I'm not even sure where Gazzy and Iggy got them from the first place. A chemist or a vets maybe?

"What about my school?" All heads turn to Ella. She's gazing at us with innocent, tear-stained eyes. "The sport department has baseball bats and hockey sticks, and the cleaners have bealches in their store closets. The science department has loads of chemicals for experiments."

Everyone's eyes light up.

"Yeah, Max!"

"Let's go!

"I've always wanted to blow up school!"

"Hold up!" I hold up my hands for a more dramatic affect. I look Ella in the eye. "Where's you school?" I ask.

"It's right on the edge of town. It's massive, with big gates and fences so I doubt many zombies can get in. There's loads of room, like two sport fields. It's easy to fly into and out." Ella explains. "There's twelve blocks, one for each subject. The windows are thin and easy to break. Dwayne Davis broke one when he kicked a soccer ball into the Maths department."

I give a little smile. It sounds brilliant: A school easy to break into with fences to keep out the predators. I turn to Fang for his approval. He nods. "Should we fly there or take the van?" He asks.

"Take the van most of the way then fly over the gates. Iggy can carry Ella." I reply. Fang nods and jumps into the driver's seat. I turn to the flock. "Everyone buckle up! The ride's gonna get a little bumpy."

It was only until Ella pointed out the way that I realised that the first half of the Voice's preditcion was complete.

A little bumpy was an understatement.

Ella directed us around the skirts of the town which means off the road. Which also translates to three miles of rough desert with loads of gravel and large rocks. Most of us were cursing all the way. Fang drove at a maniac speed, flying over the odd ditch and almost capsizing the van when he ran over a two foot rock while hitting one-hundred-and-two-miles-per-minute.

"For God's sake, Fang! Drive a little slower!" I commanded. Fang just grinned uncharacstically.

"The sooner we're there, the sooner we can get the hell out of here and go home." He replied, purposely stepping on the accelarator. I gave him a glare which he ignored. We kept driving until Gazzy finally puked out of the window. "I think that will attract the zombies while we keep moving." Fang joked.

I patted Gazzy on the back but I couldn't help but smirk.

Angel kept quiet the entire journey, curled up in the back of the van and her eyes fixed outside of the window. Ella was pretty quiet too but she was giving Fang directions now and again. While they were busy, I climbed into the back of the van to see Angel.

"You okay?" I asked. Angel's eyes darted up to me.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you." She muttered. I shrugged.

"It's okay, it's over now anyway." I lied. Truth is, it was killing me inside. But I ignored it, my flock is the most important thing now. "All that matters now is keeping each other safe." I gave Angel a tiny smile and squeezed her hand with reassurence. I hope she read my mind, she could pick up that it was fine and that I was just mourning.

But instead, Angel nodded with a small smile and went back to staring out of the window.

"Max!" Fang called from the front. I headed back down to the driver's seat, passing Dylan and Iggy. The van stopped. We all gazed out of the windows at the school.

Ella was right, it was massive. There were blocks of buildings two to three stories high, maybe even taller. There were two football fields, one grass another tar but both with wrecked bleaches, and a big barn the size of two swimming pools. The scheme colour was blue, the windows looked fragile and old. Plenty of room to do a run and jump into the air, perfect for a quick breakaway. It looked empty. It was completely silent. So silent, you could hear a pin drop which is a good sign. No movement in the windows. A seven foot tall fence wrapped around the whole property, keeping out everything out and anything that was inside in. Hopefully, there was nothing inside.

I glanced around; everybody was staring at the school in awe. "We're here." I declared. I grabbed the lead pipe. "Get ready."

We got in no problem. Iggy slung Ella over his shoudler and we all soared over and glided down to the other side of the school to where Ella told us the Sport and Science department was. Luckily, they were close together.

"Sport first, so we all can get protection." I decided. Ella pointed over to a low block with an entrence door and an outside closet. Luckily, the outside closet was where the sports equipment was kept. Iggy pulled out one of Dylan's hairclips (I still haven't managed to ask him about that yet) and picked the lock easily. No alarm went off, no zombies came running towards us.

Nudge picked up a golden painted, aluminium baseball bat. "Taxi this one's mine!" She cried and stared at it with interest. "It looks like a giant caramac ice cream bar."

We all grabbed baseball bats, Fang still kept my mother's golf club. Gazzy took a couple of tennis balls to use as little explosives and to keep himself occupied. There was nothing else there but a couple of hockey sticks (Dylan took a couple as back up) and old trainers. Ella changed out of her slippers into the best pair they had (which was still pretty bad).

"Where to now?" Dylan asked as he gazed around, keeping an eye open for zombies.  
>"Science, I guess." I replied. I glanced at Ella for her to show us the way. She pointed over to the block not that far away. It was taller and slimmer that the Sport block, with double doors and potted plants in the windows. I quickly peered at each one; no sign of movement.<p>

Our plan was going perfectly, until we got to the Science block doors.

"What kind of _idiot_ puts _magnetic locks_ on school doors?" Iggy fumed. I was frustrated; there was no lock to pick on the doors. They had magnetic locks on them which needed a percific magnet to unlock them. Sadly, we had no magnets on us.

"What are we going to do now?" Angel asked as she sat on the railings. I screwed my face up in thought. Nudge scuffed her shoe against the paving stones while Gazzy casually tossed a tennis ball into the air and caught it.

After a few minutes of utter silence, I was about to suggest we broke through the windows when Dylan appraoched the door and kicked it so hard it went flying off it's hinges.

_Riiiiing!_

An alarm went off throug the entire block, which then soon spread to the entire school. I gritted my teeth. "You idiot!" I growled. Dylan glanced at me innocently.

"I got it open, didn't I?" He questioned. I mentally faceplamed myself.

"And set off the entire school alarm and attracting unwanted attenition, plus I can't hear hardly anything with this noise. Well done Dylan." Iggy spoke sarcasically. Dylan burned holes into the floor, offended.

I sighed. "Come on, let's hurry up before anything gets through the fence!" I snapped and we all unfurled our wings and started flying up the stairs (Iggy carrying Ella, of course).

"Top floor's your best chance. The closet's up there!" Ella informed us.

We soared to the top floor and headed into the third classroom, down the corridor. Iggy and Gazzy raided the closests and cupboards, grabbing tubs and bottles of labelled chemical before stuffing them into their backpacks. Fang helped out by hurrying into the next classroom and grabbing all the cleaning bleaches he could find. Nudge and Angel kept a look out for zombies, Dylan stared at the stuffed figurines of animals like owls and squrriels.

"They're really creepy.." He was right, it seemed the owl's eyes were following us.

With the alarm getting on my nerves, I ripped the bell off the wall. It's was quieter and my headache went down a bit. And then I saw it.

There was a cupboard next to Dylan which Ella told us held text books. The small handle moved an inch, as if someone inside was trying to get out.

My eyes widened, my mouth went dry.

It twitches again, turning to open.

_Not again, please._

Dylan noticed too and he instantly backed away from it. His eyes were as wide as dinnerplates. Suddenly, there's a fercious banging coming from inside the cupboard; the handle moves some more. A fist-size dent pokes out of the metal side. It get's bigger with every punch until finally, a grey-white hand shoots out, a finger hanging on my three layers of skin.

At the very same moment, Nudge screams. I snap my head to her direction. Fang slams a door but half a zombie is reaching for him. He slams a fire extinguisher into it's head - I hear the sickening crack of it's skull- and the zombie falls to the ground. Fang kicks it into the other room and shuts the door.

There comes a low, long moan from the cupboard. The zombie has peeled away some of the cupboard, making a massive hole in the side, enough for it's head to poke through. It's arm reaches out to grasp Dylan's shirt, moaning hungriliy. It bites down on the metal, pulls and spits it out.

"It's eating it's way out!" Angel cries. I grab Fang's fire extinguisher and fling it into the hole. It hits the zombie and sends it flying inside with a spine-twisting snap.

"Go! _Now_!" I order, my voice three octavates higher than usual. Nudge nods and picks up a wooden stool. She then charges at the window and breaks through it easily, glass shattering everywhere. "Gazzy! Angel! Go, go, _go_!" Nudge soars out into the open air, her tawny wings gleaming in the sunlight. Angel jumps out after her, Dylan hot on her heels and Gazzy after him. The fly outside, circling the building. They're safe, thankfully.

"They're coming up the stairs!" Fang yells. He pushes his weight against the door, which is shaking violently. Finally, a fist punches through, sending splinters everywhere, and grabs Fang by the neck. Fang grabs its arm and pulls it off clean. He stares at it, his fingers sinking into the soggy flesh, before stabbing it back into the hole and pushing his weight against it.

"Iggy! Ella!" I rush into the closet where they're just finishing filling a backpack with explosives. "No time for more, we need to get out now!" I order.

At the same time, the door crashes and Fang skids towards us with a panicked expression. His head snaps back to look at the door; zombies are flooding in one after the other. They've blocked the two exits: the door and the window.

Panic washes over me, I grip Fang's hand for comfort. Immediantly, he lets go, jumps and shoots up and through the ceiling. I'm pretty sure I heared him mutter 'ow'.

Iggy picks up Ella, activates a bomb and throws it at the zombies. It hits one in the eye and sticks there. _Ew._

Iggy's finger tugs at my belt loop and we both fly through Fang's ninja exit through the ceiling. As we shoot like arrows up into the cloud-free sky, Iggy's bomb blows, sending twelve feet high fire into the air. We barely missed it, Iggy's shoe lace was an inch from being set on fire. The smell of thick smoke sticking to our clothes, we glide away from the explosion to meet the Flock back into the van.


	6. We Raid Walmart and Lose a Good Friend

"THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!"

I rolled my eyes as Gazzy leapt up and down in his seat, excitement gleaming in his blue eyes. Iggy gave him a lop-sided grin and the two slapped high-fives. "Seriously, how did you do it? Was it chlorine and methane again?" Gazzy questioned as he wriggled in his seat.

"Nah; spray can and fuse with just a little bit of alkali metals and water." Iggy replied as he leaned back. "How big was it?"

"Over ten feet high!" Gazzy exclaimed. "My gosh, we've gotta-"

"If you two are finished, we'd like to decide where to go next." I cut in. The boys fell silent. "Thanks. Okay, where to next?"

Not even ten minutes ago, we had just made a narrow escape from more bloodthirsty zombies for the second day running. As we soared into the air, leaving an exploded building and burning living corpses behind, we spotted where and how the zombies got in: a car had drove into the front gates on accident and made a huge gap in the fence. As the alarm started ringing, the zombies were instantly drawn to us. Luckily, Iggy's little bomb had created a chain reaction, sending the entire Science deparment up in flames. We left the destruction behind and flew back to the van, strapped ourselves in and raced away from the scene.

Because I didn't want Gazzy or anyone else throwing up the little food we had, I basically forced Fang to drive on the roads. Dylan had volunteered to become avian bait and led half the zombies away from our path by flying lowly above them. Those zombies who stood in our path got mowed down by a merciless Fang.

"We need food." Nudge piped up. She held a bag of doughnuts and a few fries in her hands. "We're low on stock."

"Okay, food first." I repeated. "We stuff our backpacks and then head back to the van. We drive back to Colorado and then fly from there. Easy."

"We'd better refill the gas tank first." Fang spoke. He leaned forward and tapped on the gas reader. The arrow was lingering between the empty and half empty signs. "I'm low on gas."

"Okay, we get food first and then get gas at services somewhere." I planned. The flock all looked at me with confident faces. "Right, where's the best place to go get fuel for _our_ tanks?"

Angel's hand lifted and a finger pointed to something on the right hand side. "There! We can get guns and ammo too!"

I glanced over Fang's shoulder; all eyes peered out of the right hand windows (apart from Iggy's). Down the road and across was a massive, near-empty car park with a large Walmart at it's head. There were zombies lingering around but nothing we couldn't handle. With Iggy's bombs and eight sticks of death battering at the porridge heads, we could get in easily, grab some stuff then fly back to the van. Fang could park really close to the entrence and then we'd jump out and let all hell break loose.

With the plan forming in my head, I grinned. "Perfect."

***

The wheels of the van screeched terribly as Fang slammed his foot on the breaks. Gripping my baseball bat tightly, I watched Dylan waste no time in opening the side doors and leaping out like a ninja turtle. His wings unfurled and he soared forward, kicking a zombie or two to the ground. Iggy jumped out next, followed by the Gasman and Angel. Nudge raced out and speared her trusty crowbar through the head of a zombie.

I pounced out onto the tar and open my wings. Beating down, I was airborne, dived and whacked an approaching zombie over the head with a baseball bat.

"Charge!" Cried Nudge as she pushed a shopping cart towards a zombie. It fell in and aimlessly waving it's arms in the air. With great force, Nudge pushed it and released her grip on the bar; the shopping cart sailed forward and crashed into a few more zombies. It upturned and fell upon a pile of the grey-skinned walking dead, trapping them under it's heavy bars. Fang and Ella leapt from the van, joining in the fight. With a few more swings of our bats and a few more brains damaged, all the approaching zombies collapsed to the ground. We all looked around for more, panting slightly, before facing the doors to Walmart.

Fang's eyes caught mine. "Ready?" He asked. I nodded. Fang raced to the doors, which automatically opened, and started beating down any zombie that came towards him. I quickly followed, with Ella and the rest of the flock on my tail.

One zombie came towards me, drool dangling from it's dislocated jaw. It had a missing arm; half a shoulder blade was in full view. Moaning, I approached me with a taste for bird-kid flesh. I swung my bat; it lodged itself into the side of the zombie's skull. I staggered. I pulled back my bat and stabbed it into the zombie's eye. It went fell and went limp. Dead.

"And stay that way." I muttered. I heard stumbling footsteps from behind me. I turned and swung my bat. _Thwack!_ A second zombie crumpled to the floor. Another attacked. I kicked it in the chest and it soared backwards right into Fang's awaiting golf club. It ran right through it's chest but the zombie didn't die; instead, it didn't even to appear to notice that a golf club was sticking through it's chest. I swung my bat and hit it's head. It flew off like an actual baseball and hit another zombie on the back.

The zombie paused and started to turn- only for Angel to kick it in the back and then stab it's skull with her own bat. She flew high, did a 180oc arch and then dived like an arrow. Using her wings, she knocked two zombies off their feet and then bashed both with her bat as if they were a pair if pinatas.

"Max!" I turned to see Nudge and the Gasman airborne, the Gasman clutching a tennis ball with wires sticking out of it. I didn't need telling.

"Up and away!" I cried as I unfurled my own wings. Fang and I soared upwards, followed by Iggy carrying Ella in his arms. Angel circled and joined us; Dylan lagging behind. The explosion sent shopping carts flying; the zombies were either blown apart or crushed by the flying objects. As the roar of the explosion died, we all listened very carefully. We couldn't hear the sound of moaning anymore. "Anything Iggy?"

"Nope." He replied. "I think we're safe."

I glanced down the isles to see if there was anything moving. Nothing but half eaten bodies lay on the ground. "More might turn up later so keep up your guard." I ordered as we all gently floated down to the ground. My flock gathered around me, awaiting instructions to follow. Fang gave me a solid nod; Dylan gripped his bat tightly. "Is everyone okay?" I asked.

There was a murmur of 'yeses' and a few nods. They all seemed out of breath and slightly tired but there was a shine of determination in everyone's eyes. We couldn't afford to be tired now.

"Okay, Dylan, you take Nudge, Gazzy and Iggy down to the firearms and get two or three and some ammo. Make sure they're small and easy to carry. Don't load them up just incase you accidently fire them. Don't use them unless it's an emergancy. If you get attacked, use your bats first. You've got a higher chance of using them than getting a lucky shot with a handgun. After you get them, go and get a few bottles of water, soda and juiceboxes. Me, Fang, Ella and Angel will go fill up on food. When we're done, meet us up in the cafe and stay safe."

I pointed to the cafe which overlooked the entire store. With a few last nods of understandment, Nudge, Gazzy, Iggy and Dylan headed off to fetch firearms. Iggy left me his empty rucksack which I slung over my shoulder. "Ready?" I asked. Angel, Ella and Fang nodded. With that, we headed in the opposite direction towards the sandwhiches.

***

"These are so cool!" Nudge exclaimed as she carefully grasped the small 3rd Gen Glock 17 handgun. She aimed it at a far away water bottle before Dylan grabbed it and pushed it down.

"Max said not to fire!" He grumbled sternly.

"Calm down, I wasn't going to shoot anything." Nudge claimed and inspected the handgun once more. "Just trying to aim."

Dylan clenched his jaw and started filling his rucksack with ammo. "Just try not to accidently fire, okay? These guns are dangerous."

"So is a bat once you swing with a certain amount of force." Gazzy piped up as he too picked up a revolver and started weighing it in his hand. Iggy lingured behind him, his fingers tracing the handgun in his other hand.

"I like this one," He grinned. "This one is mine." He said before turning to tuck it into his back pocket. Just before he shoved the nozzel into his jeans, Dylan reached forward and snatched it away. "Hey!" Iggy cried.

"Sorry Ig but I don't think you're going to need this." He replied as he placed it back onto the shelf.

Iggy frowned. "What do you mean?" He questioned.

"Well, you're blind. How can you aim when you're blind?" Dylan answered. He turned away, missing the furious expression on Iggy's pale face.

***

My footsteps echoed against the laminate floor as we headed past the fruit and veg stalls. Fang was finishing stuffing the three loaves of bread into his backpack and Angel clung to my hand as we passed another dead body. I watched it to make sure it wasn't moving; the hollow eyes seemed to burn into my mind. Fang zipped up his bag and we headed forward.

"Do we need any fruit?" Fang asked. I shook my head.

"It won't keep for long and besides, there's plenty of fruit growning on the trees down by town." I replied. Down in the nearest town at home was an old woman who's garden was huge and she had planted various trees growing plums and apples. Sometimes, we would swoop down and steal a few from the top branches when she wasn't looking. She grew potatoes and cabbages, carrots and peas in her garden too, along with a glasshouse containing tomatoes. We would steal our veg from her whenever the normal stalls were closed. But would we need some for the ride home. "On second thoughts, take a few apples for the ride."

"Should we take some salad bags?" Ella asked.

"Might as well, something to keep fresh." I replied as she stuffed into Iggy's rucksack. We headed forward and turned the corner. So far we had taken sandwhiches and salads, apples and a few loaves of bread and some cookies. "We'll get some chips and canned food, mabe get some cooked ham and-"

The sound of a light clang made my mouth go dry. We all turned at stared at the fish counter, trying to find whatever made the noise. Dead fish stared up at me with empty eyes, their bodies bisected and their guts on display for sale. The smell made my stomach churn but I was too fearful of another attack to care.

A moan came from behind us. We spun around, our bats raised for a fight. The dead body we had passed earlier had come alive. A lightly obese woman staggered towards us, her stomach had been ripped open and half her insides gone. Her eyes were rolled into the back of her head, drool fountained from her mouth. Her arms were lazily stretched towards us, her handbag dangling from her notched elbow. Before she would moan again, Fang swung his bat and hit her face. The zombie fell and Fang slammed his bat down into her forehead. It went limp and its arms fell.

From its handbag rolled out a small, yellow bottle containing small, white pills. The label read the woman's name and her suscription and as the bottle rolled to a stop, a familiar logo smiled up at me:

_iTex_

***

"I very much doubt we need that amount of soda, Gazzy." Dylan sighed as he stared at the Gasman holding three loarge bottles of soda in his arms. "That's going to be too heavy to carry. Just take one."

Gazzy pouted. "Okay." He muttered and threw two bottles bag down onto their rack. he stuffed the other into his bag, joining the various cartons of fruit juice and his chosen gun and ammo. "Are we ready?"

Nudge swung her rucksack onto her back; Dylan nodded and unfurled his wings. Jumping up into the air, he soared up and landed on the balcony above their heads. He jumped down and sat at a table in the cafe. Gazzy followed him but Nudge and Iggy lagged behind.

"Do I look handicapped to you?" Iggy questioned. Nudge sighed.

"Ignore him, Ig. Dylan hasn't been for us for long; he's still getting used to us." She replied as she spread her tawny wings.

"But hasn't he seen me cook breakfast? So he thinks that I can't fire a gun properly yet I can flip eggs perfectly?" Iggy grumbled. He unfurled his own white, grey and black wings and sighed. "Better get up there before Gazzy eats all of the cakes."

The two took to the air and landed on the balcony, jumping down into the cafe to see Gazzy grabbing every sweet thing he could. "Hey Ig, try these brownies! They're awesome!" He insisted and handed one to his best friend.

Iggy shrugged. "Well, seeing as we have time on our hands, we'd might as well fill up."

***

"I thought we got rid of these guys ages ago." I growled as Fang picked up the small bottle. He popped open the lid, took out a pill and inspected it.

"According to the bottle it's something for obeseity. Phenterminate or something like that." Fang muttered as he read the label. "Better not eat it or anything. These guys aren't exactly best friends with the world's population."

Ella frowned. "What do you mean?"

"A while back, we all went to Germany to stop these guys. Itex was trying to reduce the world's population by half and were creating mutants like us to go onto the future and repopulate the world with extraordinary enhanced people." Angel explained in her creepy seven year old voice. "We were created by Itex to carry on in a world without sickness, in a world where everyone is perfect. They own nearly every branch possible: Medicine, computer technology, real estate."

"We were supposed to be destroyed before the plan went into action. Luckily, someone managed to get us all out and we stopped them just in time." I interupted. I gave Angel a little smile, which she returned. "I thought we got rid of them."

"Maybe they're still carrying on." Fang mumbled as he slipped the pill back into the bottle. "Which means they're up to no good."

I checked the food we got for any logo for Itex. I threw away a packet of cookies in fear they had been infected by Itex. "Fang, check any other bodies we come across for anything to do with Itex. Any medicine they've been taking, any liquids they've been drinking, the clothes they're wearing, anything."

I glanced back to the bottle and the pills then to the zombie. "I've got a hunch but I need to see if I'm right."

***

The Gasman groaned as he leaned back in his chair. "I'm stuffed!" He muttered. Nudge leaned back to, crumbs scattered around her mouth and on her shirt. Iggy patted his full stomach and belched.

"I'm not surprised." Spoke Dylan. "You three have basically eaten everything sweet in the cafe!" He took a bite out of his sandwhich and sipped his coffee. "You'd better hurry up and digest before Max gets here."

"Don't worry, all we have to do is fly ba-" Nudge was cut off when Iggy's hand covered her mouth. He raised a finger to his own lips to tell them to be quiet; the four of them listened carefully. Silence came to their ears but Iggy listened carefully. The finger at his lips moved to point at the stairs and the lift leading down to the shopping area. The four of them stared and listened very carefully.

Without warning, the lift beeped at the doors tore apart. Four or five living zombies crawled out, more approaching from the hallway to the restrooms. Unlike the zombies before, these ones were much, much quicker.

By the time Nudge screamed and leapt from her seat, Dylan had to swing his bat to fend them off. "Quick!" He cried. "Fly away!"

Iggy and Gazzy unfurled their wings and jumped from the balcony, Nudge close on their feathers. Dylan swung his bat once, twice, thrice but the zombies were only knocked back and then lunged again. One sunk it's teeth into the wood and snatched it from Dylan's grasp. He quickly reached for his gun and fire two bullets. One hit a zombie right in the forehead, another scrapped the side of a zombie's ear. A loud _bang_ sounded and another bullet was placed into a zombie's brain. Dylan felt the side of the balcony hit his back as he staggered backwards; he quickly tossed himself over the edge. He was too late: a zombie caught him by the ankle and pulled him up. Moaning starvingly, their teeth bared for the feed, other zombies hung their arms over the side of the balcony in reach for Dylan.

Nudge screamed and started to fly to help him but it was too late. She watched as one zombie bit into Dylan's flesh and tore it away. He had been bit; he was gone.

Dylan screamed in pain as the nails of the zombies tore away at his flesh. "Help me!" He cried. "Help me, please!"

Iggy flew next to a crying Nudge. "Has he been bit?" He asked.

"Yep." Nudge replied as tears leaked from her big brown eyes. Iggy sighed and shook his head.

"It's too late then. If we did save him, he'd only turn on us." He muttered. "Dylan's gone."

***  
>"Are we ready?" I asked. My backpack weighed down on my back, full of packets of non-Itex cookies, ham, salads, sandwhiches and tinned meat. I watched Angel struggle to sling her backpack over her shoulder. I leaned down and adjusted the straps for her. "Is it too heavy for you?" I asked.<p>

Angel shook her blonde curls. "Max?" She asked. She adverted her blue eyes to the ground then looked up again. "Am I forgiven? About your mother?"

My insides turned to ice and my eyes stung. I patted Angel's curls and smiled at her. "It's okay, sweetie." I whispered to her. "It's not your fault." She picked up the truth in my voice and Angel gave me a thankful smile.

A scream echoed through the building, followed by three loud bangs. I leapt up straight and looked up. Within seconds, Iggy, Gazzy and Nudge had leapt off the side of the balcony in the cafe and unfurled their wings. I watched Dylan dive off too but something caught him by the ankle and pulled him back. Grey arms hung over the side of the balcony and hands tore at his jeans.

I suddenly felt sick. "Dylan!" I shouted.

"Help me!" He screamed in terror. "Help me, please!" He shrieked and screeched as he was pulled back to the balcony. I unfurled my wings and soared upwards, my hands reaching for his. He was pulled over and gone but the arms reached for me. I tucked in my wings and dropped a few feet, away from their reaching fingers. I still could hear Dylan's terrified screams, calling my name and the rest of the flock for help.

I soared around the balcony, high up and next to a weeping Nudge and Iggy. "What happened?" I asked frantically.

"They snuck up on us," Nudge sniffed. I reached outwards and hugged her tightly. "Dylan fought them back but they got him. They were really fast."

From this high up you could see the zombies sink their teeth into Dylan's flesh, tearing out his insides as his horrified screams died with him. His guts were stuffed into a zombies' mouth as the others gathered around him, like vultures over a carcass, like pidgeons over a breadcrum. I turned away from the scene, trying to keep in the tears. Nobody should die that way, not even Dylan. I had lost a member of my flock.

A warm hand was placed on my shoulder. I looked back to see Fang staring at me with sad eyes, his hand resting on my shoulder. I sighed and let a tear sneak out of my eye. "Come on," I croaked. Nudge pulled away, wiping tears away from her bloodshot eyes. "We have to get going. Dylan would want us to keep going."

My flock agreed and we flew out of the Walmart, away from the feasting zombies, away from the corpse of Dylan. We climbed into the van and instantly drove away, stopping once to fill up on gas then headed out of town. No one spoke; everyone stared out of the windows and out to the empty lands. The town slowly became nothing but a speck in the distance as we drove through the border of Arizona and into New Mexico.

As night drew near, Fang parked in a deserted field, far from any town or city or hamlet. Iggy dug out seven cartons of fruit juice and passed them around. We all stabbed the whole with out straws and then raised our cartons.

"To Dylan." Fang spoke.

"To Dylan!" "To Dylan!" "To Dylan!" "To Dylan!" "To Dylan!"

I brought my carton back down and took a large gulp of grape juice. _"To Dylan."_


End file.
